Towns in Australia

Exploring Australia, town by town

Cardwell QLD

Cardwell

Postcode: 4849

Cardwell is a town and Local Government Area in the northeastern part of the state of Queensland on the east coast of Australia. It is part of Cardwell Shire. It lies on the main transport routes along the east coast and is a popular tourist destination. Hinchinbrook Island lies off the shore.

The first Europeans settled in the area in January 1864 in order to create a port which they called “Port Hinchinbrook”. Subsequently the town was renamed after Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell.

The Cardwell Shire Story is about this place. The aboriginal language boundary of Dyirbal and Warrgamay was to the north, between Tully and Cardwell.

Cardwell is the gateway to Hinchinbrook Island, Australia’s largest Island National Park. Uninhabited, except for an eco lodge at Cape Richards, the island abounds in flora, fauna, crystal streams, palm-fringed beaches and mangrove waterways.

Launch your boat into the sheltered waters of the Hinchinbrook Channel or venture seaward to nearby islands or to the Great Barrier Reef.